Rescued
by thedreamygirl
Summary: “Another Saturday night another high school party. At least it should have been just another party.” But Nathan Scott’s 17th birthday is going to lead to so much more for him and for Haley James.
1. Chapter 1

**Rescued**

**Full Summary: "Another Saturday night; another high school party. At least it should have been just another party." But Nathan Scott's 17th birthday is going to lead to so much more; for him and for Haley James.**

**Details:** The first two episodes of season 1 took place, only Peyton and Nathan never dated and everyone was in sophomore year. Nathan never went to Haley for tutoring. This takes place about a year after that, when they're juniors. Everything else that happened is explained in the story.

**A/N:** I got the idea for this in June, but with writing my other story Always Love and having exams then I didn't have the time to write this. However, I liked the idea too much to wait until Always Love is finished to start it so I'm going to be writing both stories at the same time. This story is going to be about 10 chapters long, epilogue included (I still haven't finished writing it so I'm not definite yet). I've made a banner for this story too; if you want to see it this is the link:

img59.imageshack.us/img59/1034/30naleykd9.jpg

**Chapter One**

Another Saturday night; another high school party. At least it should have been just another party. It was the night of Nathan's 17th birthday, so to celebrate the occasion his friends Tim and Vegas had decided to throw him a party at his own beach house and everyone considered anyone at Tree Hill High was there.

Haley James had only been invited by association; she was neither a cheerleader nor someone's girlfriend, but she was the best friend of Lucas Scott, Nathan's half brother. A year ago she wouldn't have thought it possible but despite all the fights and the hazing, Lucas and Nathan had managed to become friends, at times even brothers. Of course, that didn't explain why she was standing where she was; inside a tiny closet, with a blindfolded Nathan Scott standing opposite her.

Haley was inclined to blame it on Tim. After all, he was the one who came up with the stupid game. His 'present' to Nathan was a twist on the game seven minutes in heaven. However, instead of many couples going into the closet for seven minutes each, Nathan had been stuck in there, blindfold already on, and every seven minutes a different girl went inside, to do with him as she pleased. And, somehow, Haley had become one of those girls.

The sad truth was that she had a crush on him. Well, it was definitely more than a crush. Even at the time when Lucas still hated Nathan, Haley couldn't help but wonder if there was more to him that met the eye; and she had even risked her friendship with Lucas by stating that aloud. But, there was no way she could tell her best friend that she had inexplicably fallen in love with his brother. No way.

As a result, she had kept it to herself, confiding in no one, not even Peyton Sawyer whom she had become close friends with after Peyton's boyfriend Jake Jagielski had been the first player on the basketball team to befriend Lucas. She had tried her best to get over it, knowing Nathan would never be interested in her, but those brief, split second moments when she saw him at Lucas', where he was his real self, and he noticed her and smiled, made it impossible for her to stop. She had even attempted to change the times she went to Lucas' so she wouldn't see him. Lucas hung out with Jake, Nathan and Tim separately to his time with Haley so she had endeavored not to be leaving when they were coming or vice versa. But, she lived for those moments, and in the end she couldn't help herself. Just like she hadn't been able to help herself when she had overheard those girls talking about the game.

She had only intended to see if it was real – after all, she had told herself, who wanted to go make out with him when he had just made out with tons of other girls. But, when she had searched around a bit – having told Lucas, Peyton, Jake and Lucas' new girlfriend Brooke Davis that she was going to the bathroom – and discovered that it was real, she had realized she was only kidding herself. Of course she wanted to make out with him! What sane girl wouldn't? Which brought her to where she was now; locked in a closet with the boy of her dreams – literally. And she didn't have the guts to get within 2 feet of him.

She had entered, checking very carefully that no one she knew was around, and locked the door behind her. The light was on so she could clearly see Nathan standing at the other end of the closet, not that far away, looking handsome as always in a light blue polo shirt and dark blue jeans. The blue made her think of his eyes, which was her favourite feature of his, and for a moment she wished she could see them. However, if she could see his eyes then that meant he could see her, and if he could see her there was no way she would be there right now. Not that she was making much, if any, use of her current position.

The problem was that it was only after she had come in had she realized the enormity of what she was doing. She was actually locked in a closet with Nathan Scott – and would be for a whole seven minutes – and he was expecting her to make out with him. Except, she had never even kissed a boy before. Okay, so one day when they were eleven Skills had tried to kiss her – because he needed practice before he kissed the girl he really liked, had been his reason when she asked him why – but she had moved her head and his mouth had ended up half on her lips and half on her cheek. And Haley was pretty sure that that didn't count as a real kiss.

So, she who had no experience was stuck in a dimly-lit closet with a boy who probably had too much experience for his age, and she was the one expected to make the first move. And there were other problems too. None of her friends had been there when she went in, but what if they were walking by when she came out? And it had been Vegas, not Tim outside the door, but Tim could come back. Haley mentally berated herself for not thinking the situation through and simply acting on impulse and the pure adrenaline rush she'd derived from the fact that she'd finally get to kiss Nathan.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted when Nathan said two words, "Er, hello?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow! I was blown away by the response to this story and I want to thank everyone who replied! You guys are awesome. Also, I forgot to do mention two very important things earlier, so I'm going to now. One is the disclaimer; everything belongs to Mark and co, etc. Secondly, a big shout out to by beta Tiffany who always does a great job and is super efficient; thanks so much! Hope you guys like this chapter as much as the last.**

**Chapter Two**

Nathan had thought Tim's 'present' was more than a little odd, but it hadn't been something he could find much to complain about, so he hadn't. However, earlier there had been a somewhat steady stream of girls. Then, a few seconds ago, the door had closed behind one, before opening again with what he assumed had been someone else – only they hadn't done anything. Which lead Nathan to believe that there might not be anyone else in there with him.

"Er, hello?" he said finally, feeling slightly foolish.

No one answered. Nathan shook his head, certain Tim or Vegas was playing a trick on him and started to lift a hand to his blindfold, when a female voice said, "Hi!"

Haley had been trying to think of something cool – hell, even sexy – to say in reply, but when she realized he was about to take his blindfold off she just blurted out the only response that came to her head. Thankfully, his hands fell back to his sides.

"Hi. I was beginning to think I was alone in here," he told the girl.

"Sorry; I guess I've been kind of quiet."

Nathan listened carefully, but despite its familiarity he couldn't quite place her voice. "It's okay," he assured her. When she didn't say or do anything else, Nathan started to wonder again. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly.

"Then why are you still standing all the way over there by the door?"

Haley smiled as she looked down at her trainers, and then across the few feet separating them. "How do you know where I'm standing?" As the words left her mouth, the thought crossed her mind that the blindfold might not be that thick after all and he would be able to make her out through it.

"Well, I know that this closet isn't very big lengthways, and I'm pretty certain that you're not standing next to me so you kind of have to be over there."

"Right. So you can't see through that blindfold?" she asked to make sure.

"Nah. Tim folding it over three times took care of that. So…" he began to interrupt the silence she had let settle over them once more, "you didn't come here just to talk to me, did you?"

She laughed softly, and Nathan decided that he liked the sound. "No, I guess I didn't."

"Well, then, do you maybe want to take a step forward? I don't bite."

Haley nodded before realizing that he couldn't see she was doing so. "Okay." After a sharp intake of breath she stepped towards Nathan, then stopped.

Nathan could hear the sound of her feet on the concrete floor. With an amused smile on his face he said, "You know, I didn't mean that literally. You can take more than just a step."

"I know, I just…"

"Yes?"

"I've never done anything like this before," Haley admitted.

"Me either."

Haley raised a brow. "Well, I think that the hundreds of girls who've already been in here would count as having done this before," she pointed out.

Nathan chuckled. "I guess that's true. But I meant before tonight. And there haven't been hundreds."

"No?"

"More like a few," he stated.

"A few? So you're saying that only 5 or less girls have come in here? 'Cause that's the most I can consider being a few. Even a couple is less than the amount of numbers that you can count on your hands, I would think."

"Okay, tell me you didn't come here to give me an English lesson."

As the reality of what he said sunk in, Haley smiled ruefully. She was in an enclosed space with Nathan Scott and instead of jumping him, as Peyton probably would have told her to do had she any idea what she was up to, Haley was living up to the annoying nickname Brooke had given her; Tutorgirl. And that certainly wasn't what she wanted Nathan to think of her.

As the girl continued to keep quiet Nathan was becoming more irritated by the fact that he couldn't see her. However, he didn't need his blindfold off to be able to guess how she was feeling. "You're nervous, aren't you?"

"That obvious, huh?" Haley looked back at the ground and shook her head. "I'm really sorry; I think I'll just go."

"No!" Nathan said immediately. His hand came up, reaching out instinctively and, somehow found her elbow, which he closed his fingers around lightly. "You don't have to do that."

Haley was shocked, but the doubts in her mind lingered. "But there'll be other girls outside who won't just waste your time like me."

"You're not wasting my time." Aware by now that this girl wasn't going to move any closer, Nathan bridged the distance between them himself. When she didn't move away he let go of her arm. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Haley gulped and forced herself to keep calm. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just wondering. You go to my school, right?"

"Uh…yeah. I go to Tree Hill High."

"Are you a junior too?" he asked.

"Um…I…"

"You're not a freshman, are you?" he asked suddenly. As he considered it, Nathan realized it made perfect sense. She was a fourteen year-old freshman and that's why she was so nervous!

"I'm sixteen," Haley told him. This way he wouldn't be afraid she was too young for him, but it also meant she could be a sophomore or a junior.

"Okay," Nathan said, relieved. However, the silence became awkward again since she still wasn't doing anything. He hadn't even had the chance to breathe with some of the girls who'd come earlier, and now he felt like he had too much breathing time. It was refreshing to meet someone who wasn't jumping on him at the first opportunity, but since he'd never been in such a situation he wasn't sure how to handle it. Still, he felt that he rather liked it. "So…" Nathan trailed his left hand up her arm, savoring its smoothness.

Haley's eyes closed as her skin started to tingle, but she did her best to remain calm. "So…" Inhaling deeply, she opened her eyes and looked above the wide expanse of his chest. "Where did you get that?" she asked suddenly.

Nathan's hand stopped its movements, resting on her shoulder. "What?"

"You have a scar on the bottom of your neck," Haley explained, having spotted the small cut in the hollow of his neck just below his Adam's apple. "How did it happen?"

"Well, I," Nathan took a minute to remember, having been surprised by the question, "I was moving some stuff around the house, but when I was putting this side table down the edge of it scratched me."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore."

And then, Nathan was put even more off-guard when she surprised him again; by kissing his neck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Haley wasn't exactly sure what had come over her; she just saw the scar and on impulse she had stood on her tip-toes and lightly grazed her lips over it. She pressed her mouth softly on his scar and then she moved back, standing once more on the soles of her feet.

Nathan did his best to even out his breathing before he said anything. For ages this girl didn't do anything except talk and then out of the blue she kissed him – and not even on the mouth, she had kissed his neck! It was hardly much of a kiss too, lasting for all of 2 seconds, but for some reason it was affecting him a lot more than any of the previous kisses he'd just had in this closet. His head told him it was because she had taken him by surprise, plus the fact that his neck had always been somewhat sensitive, but other parts of his anatomy were still warming up. For whatever reason, he didn't want to freak her out by sounding all husky so he took a few seconds to compose himself. However, all he could say after that was, "Huh."

Haley looked at the ground embarrassed. "Sorry," she squeaked. What had she been thinking? Was she even thinking? She couldn't have been! This whole night her brain had just turned itself off and now she was humiliated.

"Why are you sorry?"

He was going to make her say it? Unbelievable! "Because… I shouldn't have done that."

"What makes you think that?"

"All you said was 'huh'."

Nathan smiled sheepishly, but countered, "So the fact that I couldn't think of anything to say is automatically a bad thing?"

"Well, yeah. I mean that wasn't even a real kiss and it obviously sucked so I should definitely stay away from the real thing," Haley blurted out before realizing what she had just admitted.

"You've never kissed anyone before?"

Haley blushed, her cheeks a deep shade of red that contrasted nicely with her orange tank top. "Uh… not exactly."

"Not exactly or not at all?"

"Well, I had a half kiss once," Haley said quickly, then shook her head profusely.

"A half kiss?" Nathan repeated.

"Never mind," she mumbled. "I'm really going to go now."

"You know," Nathan said, holding her by the arm again so she couldn't leave, "you're right; you shouldn't have done that."

"Okay," Haley said rather meekly.

"That shouldn't have been your first kiss," Nathan continued. "This should have." And with that Nathan reached out and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He moved his head down slowly, brushing his lips across her forehead, then against the tip of her nose before going lower to kiss her lips.

Haley's whole body stiffened the moment his mouth touched hers. Her hands came up to rest on his shoulders, but when she didn't make any other move Nathan kissed her more firmly. Haley started to get used to the sensations and began to kiss him back gently as she felt one of his hands tangle in her hair while the other continued to caress her cheek.

Doing her best not to analyze the situation, Haley tried to just follow Nathan's lead. Wanting to get closer to him, she stood on her tip toes and was about to kiss him harder when the bridge of her nose bumped against his. Haley immediately jumped back, dropping her hands to her sides. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry."

Nathan grinned. "That's okay."

"No." Haley shook her head as she started blushing again. "I shouldn't have come here."

"I'm glad you did," Nathan said honestly, keeping his hand in her hair. His left hand traveled down her body to rest on the side of her hip and he used it to pull her closer to him.

"Really?" Haley's breath hitched as she placed her hands flat on his chest. She smiled when she could feel his heart was beating faster; at least she hadn't been the only one affected by the kiss.

"Really," Nathan confirmed and lightly kissed her hair. "What's your name?" he whispered.

"I-uh," Haley stuttered uncomfortably, "my name? I thought we weren't supposed to say. It's a rule."

Nathan shrugged. "This is a made-up game, by Tim no less," he reminded her. "Besides, didn't you ever hear that rules were made to be broken?"

"So…" Haley whispered back, trying to stall him, "other girls told you their names?"

"Some." The real answer was most of them, plus their phone numbers; not that he remembered them. However, this was the first time he had asked a girl for her name. Nathan decided not to tell her any of that though, since she seemed to get freaked out by the tiniest thing. And, the truth was, he was glad she came. She was…cute. Okay, so, he hadn't seen her so he didn't know what she looked like, but the way she acted was really…cute. He couldn't think of another word for it. And when they had kissed, what she lacked in experience she had definitely made up for in enthusiasm. He didn't want her to leave just –

Both Nathan and Haley's thoughts were interrupted by the knock on the door. They both knew what it meant; seven minutes were almost up and she had to leave so someone else could come in.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Haley pulled back from Nathan's embrace slightly. "I guess that's my cue to leave."

Nathan paused for a moment. "You're really not going to tell me your name, aren't you?"

Haley shook her head. "No," she whispered. "Goodbye, Nathan. Happy birthday. I really hope you had a great day."

"I think this was the highlight."

Haley laughed softly. "I bet you said that to all the girls," she countered, trying to sound like she was joking.

"No. None of them remembered it was my birthday."

Haley gulped before reaching into her back pocket. She pulled out a small box and placed it in Nathan's palm.

"What's this?" Nathan asked, as his hand closed over the box.

"It's your birthday present," Haley said quickly. "Hope you like it!" She spun around without looking at him, and unlocked the door as fast as she could before she ran out of there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

As he heard the door slam shut Nathan abruptly pulled off his blindfold to stare at the small package in his hands, carefully wrapped in paper with blue and white stripes. It took him a moment to get over the feeling of being somewhat dumbfounded and then he realized he was just standing there without doing anything. Putting the box away, temporarily, into his pocket he opened the door and stepped out of the closet.

At first, he couldn't see anyone. Then he looked around and saw Vegas on his left side and to his right were a bunch of girls, none of whom seemed like they were leaving; in fact they seemed to be approaching him, as if they were waiting to come inside the closet. Nathan looked behind them, trying to spot the mystery girl, but was suddenly shoved back inside the closet. "What! Rachel, what are you doing?" Nathan demanded, when he recognized the person pushing him backwards.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him before she quickly shut the door and locked it. "What do you think I'm doing here, Nate? Oh, you took off your blindfold," she pouted.

"But, I didn't need it. You already told me it was you the last time you came in here."

"I know, but I thought it was actually kind of sexy with you wearing that blindfold. Oh, I know!" she said, excited. "Put it on me and then we'll make out. Then I'll get to see if it really does heighten the other senses and everything."

"Actually, Rachel, I was just about to take a bathroom break," Nathan lied.

"That's why you came out?"

"Yeah." When she didn't move Nathan said, "So…"

"Oh, right." Rachel stepped to the side so Nathan could go past her. "But, remember," she added, "what just happened here does not count as part of our seven minutes."

"Okay," Nathan said with a fake smile. After he got out of the closet he darted down the hall before anyone could stop him. Wanting to talk to as few people as possible, he used his knowledge of the layout of the beach house to maneuver his way to the staircase through the narrow corridors where no one was. Spotting some of his teammates in the kitchen, he quickly jogged upstairs before they could notice him.

Upstairs was supposed to be off limits, but Nathan had had enough experience with these kinds of parties to know that some couples always wandered into the bedrooms so he had made a habit of locking his room door. Taking out his key, he unlocked his room door and flopped down on his bed.

Nathan's thoughts were racing after all that had taken place in the past eight minutes. The premise of the game had been straightforward enough; make out with a couple of girls, no strings attached, and whenever he wanted he could just walk out of the closet and find the keg. He hadn't counted on meeting anyone he didn't know already, but he had…sort of. Her voice was familiar, but the more he tried to think of who she could be the more his head ached. She must be in some of his classes, which meant that all he had to do was pay attention in school on Monday. But what if he didn't hear her talk or couldn't find her? And did he even want to wait until then? It was only a day away, but it seemed unfair since she was somewhere downstairs.

Nathan sighed as he settled back into the bed. The night was supposed to be simple, but that girl had just shown up and complicated it. He didn't really know her but she was…interesting. And she had even got him a present.

Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled the box out. As he observed the wrapping paper he noted the colours; blue and white, Ravens colours. Was that why she had chosen it?

Nathan sat up on the bed and then turned the box over to take off the paper. Once he had done that he put the wrapping paper down on the bed and tentatively lifted the lid off the small brown box, unsure of what to expect. Still, he certainly wasn't prepared for what he found inside.

Haley didn't take long to find her friends, but as she approached them she wondered whether she should have made a quick bathroom stop. She started to raise her hand to smooth down her hair when Peyton spotted her and waved. Haley smiled and put her hand back into her jeans pocket before going over to them and taking her place between Peyton and Lucas.

"Where've you been, Tutorgirl?" Brooke asked immediately. "You said you were just going to the bathroom."

"I did go to the bathroom," Haley lied, "but there was a really long queue and then I got a little lost on my way back."

"You should have just gone to an upstairs bathroom," Brooke told her.

"But I thought upstairs was off-limits?"

"It is," Peyton affirmed.

Brooke shrugged. "No one listens to that anyway. Plus, you know the home owner."

"No, I don't," Haley said quickly. "Well…not really," she added when Lucas gave her a strange look.

"But you know the owner's brother," Brooke continued.

"I don't see where this conversation is going," Jake stated.

"Me neither," Peyton agreed.

"So what have you guys been doing?" Haley asked, trying to steer the conversation away from anything involving her or her whereabouts.

"Nothing much," Lucas informed her. "Just talking."

"The music sucks," Peyton commented, causing everyone else to groan.

"Okay, you have been ranting on about the music for ages, P. Sawyer! Can we please talk about something else?"

"I second that," Lucas chipped in.

"So, Haley, did you see any good make out spots?" Brooke inquired.

'You mean, other than the inside of a closet?' Haley thought. Sighing, she shook her head. "Not really, Brooke."

"Well, then, why don't we go find one ourselves, Broody?" Brooke said to her boyfriend with a wink. Lucas blushed slightly, but before he could object, Brooke told the others, "We'll be back!" and led him away.

Haley, Peyton and Jake chuckled as they watched them leave. "You know," Haley said, "if you two want to go find one for yourselves too, you can. You don't have to stay on account of me." Besides, Haley could definitely use the alone time to cool down a bit, and figure out how she was supposed to not start blushing every time she saw Nathan after this; another thing she should have considered before she went into that room. Of course, if she hadn't then she wouldn't have experienced that kiss…

Peyton laughed at Haley's comment. "We're fine."

"You sure?"

Jake nodded.

The song ended, but Peyton sighed as the new one started up. "Who is this crap DJ? Does he know what music is supposed to sound like? This is just noise!"

Jake and Haley shared a look as Peyton started to rant again; however, Jake didn't mind indulging his girlfriend for a few minutes and it gave Haley a little time to think. She glanced around the room, at all the people enjoying the party, when she suddenly knew she was looking at Nathan's back. Her heart sped up at the sight of his light blue shirt and black hair. If he was out here now, then that meant he wasn't kissing anyone! Immediately, the thought popped up in her head that he was looking for her, and she was torn between wanting him to be and wanting him to never ever find out it was her.

However, he turned around and looked right past Haley and at some other girl; it wasn't even Nathan. Haley's heart sunk as she realized that Nathan really was still in that closet making out with someone else.

"Haley?"

"Huh?" Haley looked up; unaware that Peyton had asked her something.

"What do you think?"

"Uh…sure," she said. Peyton seemed satisfied with the answer as she carried on the conversation while Haley only half listened.

A/N: I know that not a lot happened in this chapter, but the next one will be posted very soon, and it has more 'action', so to speak.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

All it took for Nathan to make up his mind was the present. Right then, he knew that he wasn't going to wait until Monday to find out who she was.

It didn't take him long to lock his bedroom door again and go back downstairs; it was what he did after that, that was the problem. How was he supposed to look for someone he had never seen?

He tried to cast his mind back and focus on what he could remember about her. Her hair had been long; he knew that from when he touched it. However, he didn't know the colour and as he looked around he noticed that most of the girls had long hair. Not to mention, what if she tied it up?

Nathan put his thumbs in his pockets and tapped his fingers on his thighs as he did his best to remember what she had been wearing, something he hadn't really paid much attention to in the closet. When he had put his hand on her waist it had felt like…just like his jeans, actually. So, she was wearing jeans. He noticed that not many of the girls he could see were, which meant that was a help.

Nathan tried to remember something about her top before he went looking for her. It had been sleeveless and it had felt soft, but he didn't know enough about material to positively identify it. He knew that if he felt it again, he'd know for sure, but it wasn't like he could just go around touching random girls' tops. Nathan laughed at that mental image just as a hot girl was walking past him. She gave him a look that showed she obviously thought he was some freak who was laughing to himself.

Ignoring it, Nathan started to wander through the crowded rooms, trying to find someone who stood out to him. He started towards the kitchen, but when he saw Rachel there he turned the other way and walked into the living room. He had enough on his mind without Rachel bugging him.

As he surveyed the large crowd he noticed a few girls who met one part of the criteria, but not all; one was in short jeans and a bikini top, another was in jeans, but had short hair. Then, suddenly, in the corner of the room he spotted her: long, wavy blond hair, jeans and a t-shirt, which could have been what she was wearing. He had thought the girl's top was sleeveless, but a t-shirt with very short sleeves, like this girl was wearing, might have seemed sleeveless to him when he couldn't see it.

The only thing was, as he looked at her Nathan began to wonder whether this was the best idea. The girl he was looking at was…okay-looking, he supposed, although she seemed a bit young; she just…wasn't his type. The more sensible part of his brain reminded himself that his type of girl would have just got him an expensive cologne for his birthday, not something like this that he really wanted, and that was if she remembered his birthday.

Scolding himself, Nathan decided to just go up there and talk to her for a bit. He should be able to recognize her voice, but even if he didn't then he would be able to see from her reaction to him whether it had been her. Or at least he hoped it would work out that way. Nathan started walking in her direction, but was saved from having to start an embarrassing conversation by a comment from the girl's friend. Everyone in the group laughed, including the girl, and when she did her mouth opened.

Nathan couldn't help the guilty relief he felt when he saw her braces. From their kiss, he knew that the girl in the closet hadn't worn them so it couldn't be this girl. Turning around, Nathan started to wonder where he would look next when he heard someone call his name. He looked up and smiled. "Hey, Lucas."

"Hey." Lucas came up to him and gave him a manly handshake. "Happy birthday, man."

"Thanks."

"Hi, Nathan," Brooke said.

"Hey."

"I was trying to call you this morning, but you weren't picking up," Lucas mentioned.

"Oh…I was training," Nathan remembered.

Lucas laughed. "You never stop, do you? You should take a break once in a while."

Nathan smiled, but didn't inform his brother that he would have been happy to take a break from his five hour training session that morning, only Dan didn't let him.

"Anyway," Lucas continued, "I wanted to tell you that Uncle Keith got tickets to next week's Bobcats game."

"Seriously? Wow. Well, I'm sure you two will enjoy it."

Lucas chuckled. "He got three tickets. He thought that maybe you could come with us, that is, if you want –"

"Of course I want to! I'll be there."

"Alright, I'll tell Keith."

"I'll call him tomorrow," Nathan said. "So, you guys having fun?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, the party's cool."

"We were just about to join the others. Do you want to come with us?" Lucas offered.

"Sure," Nathan replied, having decided that just hanging out with Lucas for a bit might help him to clear his head.

As they walked through the crowd of people Brooke started to ask Lucas about the basketball match and when it was, giving Nathan ample opportunity to survey the girls around them unnoticed, but none of them seemed to fit. He put his hands into his pockets and felt the present on his left side where he had put it.

All of a sudden it struck Nathan that he should have realized earlier that only someone who knew him really well would know to get it for him. And, although he knew a lot of girls, none were that close to him. So, barring a stalker type – and he really hoped the girl from the closet wasn't one – she had to have asked a close friend of his what to get him.

As he listened to his friends talking Nathan knew without a doubt that the girl had asked Lucas. It was the only situation that made sense. The problem was that Lucas was Mr. Nice Guy and so he was friends with a lot of people, and approachable enough that practically anyone could have asked him.

He could just ask Lucas about it. But why would Lucas have told them to get that exact present? Nathan recalled telling Lucas which one he was missing when he showed him his collection, but that was over two months ago. Would he really have remembered it?

"What happened? I thought you guys were going to make out?" The sound of Peyton's voice pulled Nathan out of his mental debate.

Brooke shrugged. "All the good spots were taken. We're going to go again later."

Peyton and Jake laughed in reply, but Nathan's interest was captured by the third member of their group. Haley was smiling slightly at what the others were saying but she hadn't seen him yet. She was wearing jeans and a tank top, plus her auburn hair was long and loose, if slightly mussed up like it would be if someone had run their hands through it; someone like him.

Upon seeing Nathan, Peyton smiled at him. "Hey, Nathan."

The look on Haley's face made Nathan grin. She seemed shocked for a second, turning jerkily to side as she realized he was standing next to her. She looked down at the ground, not even flashing him a shy smile like she usually did, but she did start to turn slightly red.

"Hi," Nathan replied to Peyton, and to Jake, who had also said, "Hello."

"So, how's yours birthday been?" Peyton asked.

"It's been okay."

"Only okay?"

Nathan shrugged. "It's been good." Shooting a glance at Haley, he added, "The last fifteen minutes were the best though." To his delight, she turned even redder, bright enough for the others to notice.

"Hales, you okay?" Lucas inquired.

Haley nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

If Nathan hadn't thought so before, the sound of her voice would have made him certain that she was the one.

"You don't look fine," Brooke stated.

"I just have a headache," Haley told them. "Too much loud music, I guess." She tried to laugh, but didn't quite manage it.

"Well, Jake and I were going to leave early," Peyton informed her.

"Yeah," Jake chipped in. "If you're feeling sick then we can give you a ride home instead of you waiting for Lucas and Brooke."

Haley smiled at them. "Thanks, guys. I'll tell you if I feel like it. I'll just go outside and get some fresh air for now." No sooner than she said the words, she turned around and walked out the glass doors leading to the pool and then the deck, from where you could go down to the beach.

Nathan watched her retreat in silence before telling everyone, "You know, I should get going too."

Brooke raised her eyebrow at him. "You're leaving? But it's your party."

"I'm not leaving; I'm just going to walk around. Talk to a few more people. I'll see you guys later."

As Nathan walked away in a direction that was to the right of where Haley had gone he could have sworn he heard Brooke say, "I bet he's going to find the alcohol."

Glancing over his shoulder Nathan made sure that none of them were looking at him as he opened the glass doors and slid them gently closed behind him. Nathan walked towards the stone steps and, when he reached the top step, was glad to see Haley standing by the pool below him.

Her back was towards him as she looked at the water. Nathan watched her silently for a few moments, unsure of what he should do next. However, when he noticed she was walking away, towards the beach, he shouted out the first thing he thought of, "Haley, wait!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Haley folded her arms as she gazed at the pool. On the outside she looked calm, but the truth was that her mind was spinning.

Nathan knew.

It was possible that he had just been talking to Lucas and had come up to them by accident, but he still knew. That "last fifteen minutes" comment had been purely for her benefit and if she hadn't blushed like mad at it then the others probably would have questioned him about it. What would he have said?

Haley shook her head gazing at her reflection in the pool. What would happen now? Maybe he would never ask her about it. They could just co-exist like they had before, never saying anything about it, Haley thought hopefully. But what if he told Lucas? And what did Nathan think of her now; going into a stupid closet with him like that? What did she think of herself?

At least that question she could answer. She was stupid! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

Deciding to go for a walk on the beach and hopefully calm down before going home early with Jake and Peyton, Haley stepped back from the pool and had just started moving forward when she heard him call out, "Haley, wait!"

She cringed immediately. What the hell was he doing here? She kept walking, even though she knew that they were so close it was impossible for him to think she hadn't heard.

"Haley! Haley, wait!"

She walked faster. So, apparently, not only was she stupid, but she was also a coward.

With all his basketball training, Haley hadn't even reached the deck when Nathan caught up to her and spun her around. "I said 'wait',"

She stared at the stone tiles on the ground. "I heard," she muttered.

"Well, then why didn't you?"

Shifting from one foot to the other, Haley ignored his question. "Why do you want me to wait?"

Nathan didn't answer immediately. He couldn't since he wasn't altogether sure what his answer was going to be. He was still trying to process the fact that the girl from the closet was his brother's best friend. Oh, shit. Lucas was going to kill him.

"You know it's not very nice of you to come out here to make fun of me. Well, I guess it's better than you making fun of me in there with everyone watching, but still," Haley started babbling.

"I wasn't going to make fun of you," Nathan told her.

"Oh. Then, um…what did you want?"

"I…I, uh, wanted to thank you for your present." It wasn't the whole answer, but it was true. Nathan reached into his pocket, and took out the miniature car.

Haley had wrapped it herself, but it looked smaller than she remembered on Nathan's large palm; the same hand that had trailed up and down her arm. She shivered just thinking about it, although if he asked she was going to blame it on the cool breeze coming from the sea. Haley looked back at the ground, before replying, "You're welcome. I guess I'll go then –"

"Haley." Nathan stopped her from moving by holding her arm with his other hand. "How did you know to get this for me?"

"I, uh…Lucas," Haley managed

"You asked Lucas what to get me?"

Haley shook her head violently. "No, no I didn't…I didn't ask him."

"Then why did you just say 'Lucas'?"

"He mentioned it." Sighing, Haley let out the whole story before he could ask. "One day when I was at his place we were looking at all the license plate numbers he has on his wall, and then he mentioned that the day before he was at your house and he'd seen your old car collection which you had everything of except for this one."

Nathan glanced at the little toy car on his palm. He'd started collecting it when he was a kid, but even when his mother told him he was too old for it he wouldn't let her throw it away. Not that he still played with them or anything; he just didn't want to get rid of it. He had practically begged his Dad to get him the one in his hand for his birthday once, but, of course, he'd gotten basketball stuff instead. Well, now he had got his present in the end, just ten years later and from a girl he barely even knew. Nathan thought about his conversation with Lucas and said, "But that was almost two months ago."

Haley shrugged. "I remembered."

"So…you bought it for me?"

"I, uh, also remembered that one of my older brothers used to collect them when he was a kid and my Mum and I were sorting through all this old stuff at home and I found it. I didn't go out looking for it," Haley said defensively. "I'm not, like, obsessed with you or anything." She blushed after she said it, and Nathan started to grin. "Okay, I should really -"

"Don't go," Nathan said immediately, holding onto her arm again.

The way he kept touching her arm was starting unnerve her and she looked away. "Don't do that," she said softly.

"Okay." Nathan let go of her arm and put the present back into his pocket. "I won't do that, I won't touch you, just…don't go just yet."

"Why do you want me to stay?"

"I…Can we talk?"

Haley nodded slowly. "Okay."

"So, you'll stay instead of running off again?" Nathan asked to make sure.

"Well, Peyton and Jake aren't leaving just yet so…I'll stay for a bit."

"Okay." Nathan's smile grew. "Okay, good."

Haley couldn't help but smile back. "So…you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," Nathan glanced back at the party, which he could see still going on through the glass doors. "Do you mind if we go to the beach?"

"No, I don't mind."

"Alright…let's go this way." Nathan gestured to his right and let Haley lead the way down toward the dock. As they walked his hand came up to rest on the curve of her back, but, remembering her wishes he jerked it back and, to avoid falling for temptation, stuffed both hands into his pockets.

Noticing the movement beside her, Haley's head half-turned. "Everything okay?"

Nathan grinned as he took in her bright eyes and nervous smile. "Everything's perfect."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Haley wasn't sure what to say to Nathan, and since he had been the one who'd wanted to talk she decided to let him make the first move. As a result, they had ended up walking in silence all the way to the beach, while both collected their thoughts. She desperately wanted to know what he was thinking, but she didn't dare ask him. Still, the pain of just walking next to him and waiting silently was starting to get to her. Trying to do something, she did her best to observe the scenery; the low night tide, the sandy beach, the bright moon. As she looked around, she realized that they had ventured father from his beach house than she'd expected.

"Er, Nathan?"

He glanced at her. "Yeah?"

"We're kind of far away from the house, aren't we?"

Nathan looked around and nodded. "Yeah, sorry, I didn't notice."

Haley shrugged. "I didn't either."

"Well…do you want to sit down here?"

"Sit? Okay, sure." Haley immediately plopped down glad to have something to do, then mentally scolded herself for not being more graceful.

Nathan didn't seem to take any notice of her klutziness as he sat down, stretching out his legs and propping himself up on his hands. Yet, if Haley thought that their lack of movement would inspire him to say something with more than two syllables to her, she was sadly disappointed when Nathan reminded quiet.

Sighing, she took to staring at the ocean waves, which was pretty and all, but she would much rather just stare at Nathan; only she couldn't since it would be too obvious. Although he seemed to be in such a Zen state that she almost felt like someone at the party could start lighting fireworks and he wouldn't notice.

Observing that the way she had crossed her legs lazily and leant her elbows on her knees might be too masculine a pose, she tried to move slightly without distracting Nathan. However, she didn't know any 'come hither' poses – aha! This was why Lucas had told her she should try to be friends with Brooke; although Lucas probably didn't have this particular situation in mind – so she ended up just copying the way Nathan was sitting. Deciding that that wasn't a particularly great idea either, she tried to move again and sit with her legs underneath her, but Nathan chose that moment to finally speak.

"Haley?"

She looked over at him. "Mm-hmm?"

"You never talk to me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"I was just trying to remember the last time you spoke to me and I can't…"

"Okay…"

"Because you don't," he finished.

"Yes, I do!" Haley said defensively.

Nathan raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. "Oh, yeah? So what do we talk about?"

"Uh…well…it's not like we have epic conversations or anything."

"What was the last thing you said to me before tonight?"

"'Bye'," Haley guessed.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "I mean before that." When Haley didn't respond, he prodded, "You know why you can't remember? Because other than 'bye' all you've ever said to me is 'hi'!"

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is," Nathan said firmly, "and you know it."

Haley averted her eyes and looked at the sand.

"You know, I always thought that you didn't like me very much," he said softly.

"What? Why!"

"Because! You would always find some reason to be leaving just as I was coming to see Lucas, or you'd only come inside when I was going. And at school, if I come up to Lucas to talk to him for a bit and you're there you don't say anything."

"B-but…I smiled!"

"I thought you were just trying to be polite."

"Oh." Haley stared at her hands in her lap as she tried to comprehend the fact that all the things she did because she liked Nathan had made him think she didn't like him.

"So…did you ever tell Lucas?" Nathan asked hesitantly.

"Tell him what?" Haley asked, then pressed her lips together, realizing what he had meant.

"Erm…that you didn't not like me?" Nathan said finally.

Haley couldn't help but laugh at the way he said it, even though she was blushing at the same time. "No, I never told him. I didn't think he would…"

"Yeah, I don't think he would either," Nathan agreed. "Haley?" he said, after a slight pause.

"Yeah?"

"How did you intend to give me your present? I mean, if Tim hadn't come up with that game; what would you have done? Would you have given it to me?"

"Yeah, I was going to give it to you. That's why I brought it."

"So you were just going to walk up to me and give it to me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of keeping it somewhere for you to find when we were leaving," Haley admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't. I would have liked to have known it was from you."

Haley shrugged, and stared at her trainers. "It's just a present."

"It's also the only present anyone's given me today."

"What? B-but – Lucas said Keith got tickets to some game that they were going to ask you to come with them to!"

"Aside from that."

"But your parents must have got you something."

"My mum's not here. She works for this foundation and she's always traveling; she's coming back at end of the month. And my Dad got me new weights."

"Weights?" Haley asked curiously.

"Weights; so I can train even more than I already do."

"Well…it's still a present," Haley said cheerfully, but Nathan chuckled and shook his head.

"It's more of a present for him," he clarified. "I train harder so I play better and he can live out his basketball dreams through me."

"But, don't you like basketball?" Haley wondered.

Nathan sighed and thought for a moment. "I like it when I'm playing at the Rivercourt, with the guys," he confessed.

"But you don't like it in school?"

"Sort of. Whitey's great," Nathan started to explain, "but whenever we have a game coming up my Dad just gets more worked up about things."

"Oh." Haley nodded, not knowing how to reply. "Ooh – Tim got you a present too! Kind of," she amended.

Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, he did." He looked over at Haley and grinned. "Second best present of the night."

"Second best? That's a pretty high ranking," she said calmly, trying not to grin at the insinuation that hers was the best.

"Well…I have a feeling that we wouldn't be sitting here like this if not for Tim. And that would be a shame."

At his admission, Haley looked up to meet Nathan's gaze, but was surprised to find him leaning towards her. As he came closer, her eyes closed instinctively just before his lips touched hers. He wrapped one arm around her waist as he kissed her softly for a few seconds before he pulled away.

Haley took a deep breath as she looked into Nathan's blue eyes, her heart still pounding from the fact that he'd not only kissed her; but done so willingly, when he knew exactly who she was and anyone could just wander down the beach and find them there. She blinked, and glanced down at where his hand rested lightly on her arm. "Y-you said you weren't going to do that," she stuttered finally.

"But I wanted to."

"Yeah," Haley breathed, before she leant up and kissed him back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Haley and Nathan continued to kiss as they sat on the beach, growing more passionate as the minutes flew by. Haley put her arms around his neck and, wanting to get closer, Nathan pulled her towards him so that their upper bodies touched. He deepened the kiss, but as Haley turned her head toward him her nose knocked into his.

She pulled back immediately, blushing furiously over the fact that she had done that twice tonight. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, looking down, but Nathan just chuckled.

"It's okay." When she still looked embarrassed, he repeated, "It's okay," and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

He kissed the corner of her mouth before returning to her lips. Haley was hesitant, but soon gave into the kiss, parting her mouth slightly when Nathan traced her lips with the tip of his tongue. He slowly slid his tongue inside her mouth, and took her soft sigh as a positive sign until she moved back abruptly.

Thinking, he'd gone too far too quickly, Nathan apologized. "Sorry, I –"

"No, it's not you," Haley interrupted as she reached inside her pocket. "It's my phone." She held it out so that he could see it was vibrating since she had put it on silent.

"Oh."

"I have to take this."

"Yeah, okay. Go ahead."

Haley flashed Nathan a smile before she answered the call. "Hi Peyton," she said, doing her best to sound light and cheery and not breathless as she recovered from Nathan's sweet kisses.

"Haley! Where are you?" Peyton shouted into her phone so that she could hear herself over the loud stereo system.

"I just…went down to the beach."

"By yourself?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Shall I come there?"

"No! I mean, you don't need to."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind, Hales," Peyton told her.

"I'm sure, Peyton. Thanks, but it's not necessary."

"Okay, but don't wander alone down there for too long."

"I won't."

"See you soon."

"Bye."

Once Haley had hung up, Nathan asked, "Is she coming?"

Haley shook her head. "No, she's not."

Nathan looked relieved. "Do you want to go back?" he asked a moment later.

Haley sighed. "Not really; but I probably should. I mean, if Peyton's calling, then Lucas might be worried."

"Lucas. Right… Then, I guess we should…"

"Yeah."

Nathan stood and held out a hand to help Haley up. She took it, and grinned when he didn't let go after she was standing; in fact, he laced his fingers through hers.

Silently, they started walking back to the beach house, and Haley's mind went into overdrive. She didn't want to over analyze what had just happened, but she couldn't help it since nothing had been resolved. Those kisses had been incredible! Not that she had anyone to compare Nathan to.

That was part of the problem. Nathan had lots of experience, while she, on the other hand, had never had a boyfriend so she had no idea how this was supposed to work. What was going to happen with her and Nathan now? She was in love with him and up until tonight he had thought that she didn't even like him! And he had never said how he felt about her. The kissing and the hand-holding were all good signs, but Haley knew she wasn't the type of girl Nathan Scott dated. What would happen if someone they knew came by and he just dropped her hand? She'd be crushed, that's what.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

Haley took a deep breath. "What is this? I mean…what are we?" Haley shook her head, remembering an article she had read in her mother's magazine that had said talking about them collectively as a 'we' too soon could freak the guy out just as much as the 'l' word. Haley started again, "Say if Peyton asks me what happened out here; what do I tell her?"

Nathan pursed his lips, and stared off into the distance, but Haley derived some comfort from the fact that he still hadn't let go of her hand. "What do you want to tell her?"

"The truth," Haley said simply.

"Then, tell her the truth."

"But…I don't know what just happened. I mean, I know what happened," Haley corrected herself. "But what does it mean?"

"So it has to be something? Right now?"

"I know it's all kind of sudden, I just…I need to know what you're thinking. If you don't want this to be anything then that's okay, I just…I need to know."

Nathan nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "Lucas isn't going to like it."

Haley had known that from the beginning, but if there was any possibility that she could be with Nathan, then she wasn't going to let Lucas' opinion stand in the way of that. "Just forget about Lucas for a little bit. What do you want?"

By this time they had gotten back to the pool where Haley had been standing earlier. She reluctantly let go of his hand and stood beside the pool once more, facing opposite Nathan, and prepared herself for the worst.

"Do you want to go out?"

Haley's face lit up. "You mean, like on a date?"

Nathan laughed at her surprise. "Yeah, like on a date."

"You want to go out with me?"

"I just asked you, didn't I?"

Haley replied by wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a smacking kiss on the lips. When she beamed up at him, Nathan chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

"Take it, mister."

Grinning, Nathan lowered his head and they kissed, more languorously this time.

"Nathan…" Haley breathed.

"Mmm?"

"Are you sure?"

"Do you ever stop thinking?"

"If you're not sure-"

Nathan placed the tips of his fingers over her mouth. "I'm sure. I know it's soon, but I want to date. We can just see where things go from there."

Haley grinned. "Okay."

She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him again. Nathan held her body close with one arm, as his other hand caressed her cheek. Just as Haley was working up the courage to pick up where they left off when Peyton had called her, she heard someone screech, "Oh my God!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Haley jumped back out of Nathan's embrace and stared, horrified, at the person who had just joined them. "Brooke?"

Brooke looked just as surprised as they did. "Tutorgirl! You and Nathan…oh my God! I can't believe you guys are having an affair!"

"We're not having an affair, Brooke-"

"I'm not blind! How long has this been going on for?"

Nathan decided it was time to cut in. "Brooke, I don't think –"

"I can't believe I didn't know about this. Does Lucas know? No, of course he doesn't know," Brooke answered her own question. "This is just so unbelievable!"

"Brooke…" Haley began, but then trailed off because she didn't know what to say. She folded her arms uneasily, and glanced up at Nathan for help.

Noticing Haley's discomfort, Nathan draped an arm across her shoulder. "Uh, Brooke? Now that you've gotten over the shock, do you think you could…" Nathan gestured with his free hand, and Brooke immediately got the message.

"Oh, of course. You two go make out. I'll get going," Brooke turned around and trotted back up the steps to return to the house. Before going through the sliding glass doors, she shouted over her shoulder, "But I want details later, Tutorgirl!"

"Oh my god," Haley moaned.

Nathan chuckled. "We were going to tell people about it."

"Yeah, but for it to be Brooke, of all people; and for her to find us the way she did. And you practically told her to leave us so we could…"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "We could what?"

"You know!"

Grinning, Nathan asked, "What, you can't say 'make out'?"

Haley pouted. "I can say make out." Although she had never thought she would be included in a sentence involving those words.

"Just relax."

"Easy for you to say. This kind of thing probably happens to you all the time."

"No, actually, it doesn't; but what's there to be so worried about?"

"Brooke will tell Lucas!" Haley stressed.

"Well, weren't we going to tell him?"

"Well, yes, but he was going to be sat down and the situation explained to him in full. It was going to be planned and there would be tea."

"Tea?"

"It helps him relax. He isn't going to be relaxed when he finds out that his girlfriend caught me on the verge of sticking my tongue down your throat. What are you smiling at?" she asked, when she caught the look on his face.

"I didn't know you were going to do that."

Haley flushed and cursed her big mouth, but all she said to Nathan was, "This isn't funny."

Nathan just smiled, and despite all her worries it never failed to set her heart a flutter. Then he wrapped his arms around her, so that her body was resting against his. "You have to stop worrying, Haley."

"But Lucas might get mad."

"Let me handle Lucas, okay? Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

Haley had always thought that line was rather clichéd, even condescending. But when Nathan said it to her, she grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Okay," she said softly.

"Good."

Nathan bent down and gave her a light peck on the lips. When he started to move away, Haley brought her hands up to keep his head in place. She started to reciprocate, when she was interrupted, again, by the sound of another voice.

"What the hell is going on?"

Haley cringed even before she looked in that direction. She already knew it was Lucas.

Nathan was braver than her; he gave Lucas a small wave and said, "Hey."

It seemed to rile Lucas up even further. "Don't just say, 'hey'! What the hell did you think you were doing to Haley?"

"Lucas, I can explain," Haley said quickly, but she had no idea she how she was going to. Nathan finding out she had gone into the closet to kiss him had been embarrassing, but at least he hadn't been mad. He even decided he wanted to date her! But, Lucas finding out…that would be a whole different thing.

She was saved from having to when Nathan cut in, "Let me. This hasn't been going on for ages or anything. We just got together tonight," Nathan told Lucas.

"B-but…how did this happen?"

"Um, well…" Haley stuttered.

"Well, Lucas, the truth is," Nathan began, causing Haley to look in his direction, afraid of what he was going to reveal, "I've always had a…sort of…thing for Haley here."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "A thing?"

"Well, I kind of liked her."

Lucas folded his arms in front of his chest and looked suspicious. "You never told me this."

"I was afraid you wouldn't approve. Plus, I didn't know how Haley felt so I didn't say anything."

"So…now what's going on?" Lucas wondered.

"Well, I asked Haley out and she said yes."

"You did?"

Haley nodded meekly. "We were going to tell you before we told anyone else, but it just happened, like, now, and then Brooke appeared out of nowhere."

"I was worried about you so I asked Brooke to help me find you."

"I was with Nathan."

"So I see."

"Are you mad?"

Lucas sighed and shook his head. "No."

Haley smiled. "Good." She moved forward and hugged him.

"So, are you coming back inside?"

Haley looked over her shoulder at Nathan. "Actually, we were going to stay out here for a little while."

"Oh, okay." Lucas nodded, and started walking back to the house.

Haley turned to go back to Nathan and once her back was turned, Lucas glared at Nathan and mouthed a few choice words to him.

"Uh, oh," Nathan said quietly once Lucas left.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked. "I thought that went well. Much better than I thought he'd take it."

"I think he and I are going to have a talk later."

"What makes you think that?"

"He said so when you weren't looking."

Haley laughed. "I'll talk to him." She stood on her tip-toes and lightly kissed him on the mouth. "So, uh, thanks for covering for me."

"No problem."

"So, that's all it was, right? You were just covering for me? I mean…" Haley twisted her hands, "you didn't mean what you said to Lucas…right?"

Nathan sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. "Boy, you've got a lot questions tonight."

"Well, a lot's happened tonight."

"I, uh…I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"I guess, I always thought you were…different."

Haley raised a brow. "Different? Different good…or different weird?"

"Good. You know, you're smart and you're, like…different from all the other girls I knew. You didn't start coming on to me the minute I appeared. In fact, you were kind of the other way around…"

"Right," Haley smiled ruefully, remembering his earlier confession. "You thought I didn't like you. Wait. You liked me because you thought I didn't like you?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "You definitely captured my attention." Haley couldn't help but giggle, while Nathan just smiled. "Hey," he said softly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist once more, bringing her body to his, "let's not dwell on the how's and why's. We're here now."

"Yeah," Haley breathed. "We are."

Nathan leaned down to kiss Haley, but no sooner had his lips brushed against hers did they hear footsteps. They broke apart to see Peyton running down the steps.

"Haley! Brooke told me, but I didn't believe her so I had to come see for myself. I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Sorry, Peyton," Haley mumbled.

"So you just went to the beach for a stroll by yourself, huh? You could have told me about you and Nathan; I wouldn't have told Lucas if that's what you were worried about."

Nathan was able to laugh at the situation, while Haley just nodded dimly, her cheeks colouring for the zillionth time that night. They darkened even more when another figure appeared from the house. He, however, was there to save them from further embarrassment.

Jake jogged down the steps and came up behind Peyton with an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry about this. Brooke told her something about you two and she kind of ran out here before I could stop her."

Nathan chuckled. "It's okay."

"Exactly. It's okay, I'm not bothering them," Peyton told him.

"Actually, honey, I think Haley and Nathan would rather be alone right now." Before Peyton could protest Jake led her away from the couple, mouthing a, 'Sorry,' when he glanced over his shoulder.

"Okay," Peyton agreed grudgingly, "but you have to give me details later, Hales!" she called out just before they went through the glass doors.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Now, in my author's note for the first chapter of this story I said it was going to be about ten chapters long. Well, I've been having so much fun writing it that it's been slightly extended to 14 chapters. But that's it. As much as I love it, I'm not going to keep making it longer for the sake of dragging it out. But, hey, that ending isn't here just yet so let's move onto happier matters like those wonderful reviews you guys have given me. I love reading them and I'm glad that so many people like it; hope you enjoy this chapter too.

**Chapter Ten**

Nathan and Haley waited until Peyton and Jake returned to the house before they looked back at each other.

"Well…" Nathan began, "it looks like I'm going to have to give you something good to tell them about tomorrow."

"Oh, god." Haley groaned and buried her face in Nathan's chest.

"Hey, it's not that bad."

Haley looked at him with a stern expression. "Easy for you to say. Your friends didn't just embarrass you in front of…"

Nathan smirked. "In front of?" he prompted.

"Never mind," Haley muttered and folded and folded her arms.

Nathan grinned at her and reached a hand out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Haley smiled softly at the gesture. "Well…um, what do you want to do now?"

"Um…we could stay here. I mean, at this point I don't think anyone else will come out –"

"You spoke too soon!" Haley groaned when she saw a man come back out of the house. "Jake?" she called, surprised that it was him.

"Hi." He smiled at both of them. "Really sorry about this, but I just had to ask you something."

"What?" Haley wondered.

"How are you getting home? 'Cause, see, Peyton and I are going to leave soon and we were just wondering if you were coming with us – or with Lucas or…"

Jake trailed off, allowing Nathan to jump in. "I can take you home."

Haley glanced up at him "You can? You don't mind?"

"No, it's fine."

"Okay then." Jake nodded. "I'll go tell Lucas."

"Lucas?"

"He wanted to know. Peyton sent me because she thought it was better than if Lucas came and caught you guys making out, again."

"Right."

"See ya!" Jake waved goodbye and jogged back up to the beach house.

"Well…" Haley muttered.

"I guess this means no basketball game next week for me."

Haley looked up at him. "Oh, right. The Charlotte Raccoons?"

Nathan burst out laughing.

"What? Lucas told me about a little about the game and –"

"Bobcats, Haley, Bobcats," Nathan managed to say between chuckling.

"Oh. I see." Haley kept her arms folded and looked down at the floor.

Nathan stopped laughing and smiled at her. "Come 'ere," he pulled her closer to him and bent down to plant a kiss on her head.

Haley rolled her eyes and looked up at him, but before she could say anything they were disturbed once more.

"Hey, Nate!" a voice called out.

Both Nathan and Haley groaned as they looked in the direction the voice came from.

"What is it, Tim?" Nathan asked, sourly.

"I've been looking for you all over. Where the hell have you been?"

"Around. I had to go for a walk."

"Well, when are you coming back? I got a couple of girls waiting."

"You can tell them that I'm not coming back."

"But…what should I do? I mean, they expect to make out with somebody."

"Well, why don't you make out with them?" Nathan suggested.

"Me? Only a blind girl would believe I was you – and I don't know any."

Tim's choice of words gave Nathan an idea. "Then why don't you make them put on the blindfold?"

Tim's face lit up. "You serious?"

Nathan grinned. "Yeah. Go have fun, Tim."

"Thanks, dude. Seriously. Oh…hey, Haley."

"Hi, Tim." Haley waved at him.

"You went for a walk, too?"

"Something like that."

"Okay, see you guys later."

"Bye, Tim." Once his friend was back inside the house, Nathan turned to Haley. "What do you say we go somewhere else? I mean, before anyone else comes out."

"You don't want them to, huh."

Nathan's brow furrowed. "Yeah, it's kind of annoying. You were just saying so yourself. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Haley said, but not in a way that convinced Nathan.

"Haley, what's the matter?"

"Do I embarrass you? I mean, I know I embarrass myself all the time, but –"

"You don't embarrass me, Haley."

"Then why did you just tell Tim you went for a walk?"

"You know what Tim and those guys are like."

"No, I don't know what they're like."

"Well, he would have had a lot of questions –"

"So?"

"I just wanted to get rid of him so we could spend some time alone."

"Or you didn't want him to know you're with me now? Or not even really with me yet since we're just going to sort of 'see what happens'?"

"Haley. Did I act differently around you in any way when Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake or Jake, the second time, were here?"

"Well, no –"

"Then what makes you think that I wouldn't want my friends to know about you?"

"I…I don't know." Haley sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…you and me, this is like…a big deal for me."

"And not for me?"

"Well you didn't like me for years or –" Haley clamped a hand over her mouth as Nathan's eyebrows went up; way up.

"Years?"

"Did I say years? I didn't mean years. I meant months – just a few months, you know, nothing really that long term. I talk weird sometimes and I say the wrong thing without meaning to. It's this verbal deficiency I have, it's a really serious problem – I should go see a doctor –"

"Haley?"

"Mm-hmm?"

Nathan took her hands in his and bent down so their foreheads were touching. "You don't embarrass me. And this thing with us is important to me too – and not just because Lucas will kill me if I screw it up, which, with my track record, there is a high possibility of happening."

Haley broke into a smile. "I don't think so."

"So, we're good?"

"Yeah."

"Good. So, how about we get out of here then?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Haley was surprised by Nathan's suggestion. "You mean leave? But it's your party."

"Haley, all your friends noticed you were missing faster than anyone realized I was gone. Trust me; no one's going to miss me."

"But it's your birthday; you should spend time with your friends and –"

"Actually, I should get to spend time with whoever I want to spend time with, right?"

"Right."

"And I want to spend time with you. And we're not going anywhere far away – just out of _here_; I don't think I can stand anymore interruptions."

Haley grinned. "Okay, then."

Nathan grinned back at her and started to lead her by the hand.

"Where are we going?"

"My room."

Haley stopped in her tracks. "Your room? You don't, by any chance, mean your play station room, do you? Or your TV room?"

Nathan looked puzzled. "The TV is in the main living room, but the party is there. And the play station is in my bedroom."

"Your bedroom," Haley repeated, hesitantly.

"Well, yeah. No one else uses it."

"Right. Of course not."

"Is it okay if we go to my bedroom, Haley?"

"What? Of course it is. Why would you think it wouldn't be?"

"You've gotten nervous again."

"Who me? No," Haley tried to dismiss it with a wave of her hand, but was rather unsuccessful.

"You know, we don't have to go there if you don't want. We could go back to the beach or something."

"No, no, that's not necessary. I mean, I've been to a boy's room before."

Nathan smirked. "Aside from Lucas'?"

"Yes!"

"Your brothers don't count, Haley."

"Oh. Hmm."

"If it makes you feel any better this isn't really my room. It's just my room when we stay at the beach house."

"I know. It's not big deal. I'm cool."

Nathan chuckled. "Haley, just because we're going to my room it doesn't mean we're going to do anything. We can just talk."

"I know that."

"I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You don't make me uncomfortable," she said, honestly.

"We can just as easily go somewhere else and talk."

"No, I want to go to your room."

"You do?"

Haley nodded, convincingly. "Yeah. We're just going to talk and…hang out without everyone disturbing us all the time."

"Exactly."

"Okay. Besides, just because I like you I'm not, like, going to jump into bed with you."

Nathan couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't think you would. So…" Nathan planted a kiss on the top of Haley's head, "do you trust me?"

Haley glanced up and looked into his eyes. "Yeah. I trust you."

"Then, follow me."

She did. From the pool and back into the house, where she had been standing with Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Jake, all of whom were now somewhere else; past all the strange looks and second glances at the sight of Nathan holding her hand, she followed him.

But, at the bottom of the staircase, she stopped.

Nathan turned back and looked at her. "Haley?"

"Everyone can see us," she whispered.

"Yeah…"

"So they'll think that we're going to…you know…what everyone else does…"

"They'll think whatever they want to think; we know the truth, our friends will. That's all that matters, isn't it?"

"Well…um…"

Nathan sighed.

"I'm sorry. I do want to be alone with you, it's just I know the things they'll say to me at school and I've been picked on by Rachel and her friends enough to last me a lifetime; I don't want to go about giving her more ammunition."

"Rachel picks on you?"

Haley's face fell. "You're friends with her?"

"No, not friends," Nathan corrected. "I just know her a little, that's all. What does she do to you?"

"Just typical stuff."

"Like?"

"Like she makes fun of my clothes or me tutoring, you know." Haley shrugged. "I'm used to it by now, it doesn't really matter; I just don't want it to get worse."

"It does matter. She shouldn't do that."

Haley smiled. "She's Rachel Gattina; she does what she wants."

Nathan frowned and pulled Haley close so he could wrap his arms around her. "Well she's not going to anymore."

"Oh, you're going to stop her, are you?"

"Yes."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Haley asked, amused.

"I'll think of something. And, there is nothing wrong with the clothes you wear and I think it's great that you tutor. Not a lot of people would give up their time to help someone when they don't get anything out of it, but you don't care about that. It's one of the things that I like about you."

Haley grinned up at him. "Thanks." Nathan pressed a soft kiss to her lips and Haley grinned even wider despite her embarrassment that everyone could see.

"Well, then. Shall we?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"Oomph!" Haley groaned as her foot collided with a particularly sturdy branch on the tree she was currently trying to climb up to get to Nathan's first-floor bedroom. Aside from going upstairs there hadn't been anywhere else in the beach house for them to be alone; especially after the beach became occupied by what Haley termed a group of drunken hooligans, also known as Nathan's teammates.

Nathan's ingenious idea had been to climb up to his room on the tree conveniently right outside his window. Apparently he had escaped from his parents awful vacations by shimmying down this beloved tree and climbing back up it a few hours later – Haley had been afraid to ask where he went in the meantime. However, he had made it sound like a piece of cake. As she reached upwards she realized that it was a piece of cake – but only if you were a trained athlete.

"I can't do this!" she whined.

"Yes, you can, Hales," Nathan called from below her. "You only have two more branches to pass and then you can just jump into my window."

"You should have gone up first," she grumbled. "Then you could have just pulled me up."

"I told you I would, but you wanted me to go after you in case you fell," Nathan reminded her. "Besides, now I think I like your idea better."

"Why's that?"

"I have a great view."

"Huh?" Haley's brow furrowed until she realized there was only one thing of interest to him in his 'view'. "Nathan! Don't stare at my ass!"

"But you have a very nice a-"

"Stop! Just don't finish that sentence, okay?" Haley pleaded as she finally became level with his bedroom window and swung a leg onto the window sill. "I need full concentration if I'm going to manage this without breaking my neck – or yours."

"Gotcha."

With a deep breath Haley let go of the tree and clutched the side of the window before propelling her other leg onto the sill. "Oh my God! I did it!"

"Don't get too excited, Hales. You still have to get inside my room and not fall the other way onto the ground."

"Right." Haley tried to lower one leg through the open window, but lost balance and tumbled headfirst onto the bedroom floor.

"Haley, are you okay?"

"I'm perfect," she mumbled as she tried to stand.

In two quick, graceful steps Nathan was inside the room and immediately pulled her up. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I have tree in my hair though." Haley put a hand through her hair and pulled out a leaf attached to a twig, accidentally dropping it as she did so. She turned sideways, bent down to pick it up and once she faced Nathan again she noticed he was smirking. "What?"

Nathan's smirk grew wider. "Nothing."

"Nathan, wha – Oh my God! Nathan can you not do that, please?"

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"You know what."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You were…you know! You were staring at my ass!"

Nathan held up a hand. "I plead the fifth."

"Nathan, come on, it's embarrassing."

Nathan laughed as he took a step towards her. "You know, most girls would like it if they were being checked out."

"Well, I'm not most girls."

"I know."

Nathan hooked his thumbs through the loops in Haley's jeans, bringing her closer to him. She smiled and let the leaf float back to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. Nathan continued the kiss, walking backwards the whole time, but keeping his hands locked on her waist so she didn't fall. When he felt the back of his knees touch the bed he sat down, and brought Haley down to sit on his lap.

"So…" she whispered, before sighing as he started kissing her neck.

"So," he mumbled against skin, "what time do I have to get you home by?"

"Midnight," she breathed.

Nathan's eyebrows shot up and he stopped what he was doing. "Midnight?"

"Yeah. What? Is that not okay?" Haley wondered, surprised, as she thought he would have been pleased.

"No, its okay…I mean, I can get you home then."

"Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing…I guess I just figured you were a ten o'clock curfew kind of girl," Nathan admitted sheepishly.

Haley couldn't help but giggle. "To be honest most nights I am in bed by ten o'clock so I can't say I blame you."

"Your parents let you stay out until twelve?"

"In the summer it's one, but yeah. They're pretty cool about stuff like that. They think that I don't go out enough."

Nathan laughed. "They sound really cool. I'd offer to switch parents, but I wouldn't wish Dan on you."

Haley softened. "He's really rough on you, huh?"

Nathan shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"You know…if you ever want to talk about stuff…you can always talk to me."

"Thanks. I might take you up on that – but not right now. I mean, we're finally alone and I really don't want to spend this time talking about my father."

"But however else will we spend our time, Nathan?"

He chuckled. "I have a few ideas…" His right hand started inching underneath her top, and at the movement of his fingertips Haley wriggled, only slightly, but enough for Nathan to notice. "Are you ticklish?"

"Er…no," Haley tried to lie convincingly; well aware of what always happened to her when she happened to mention to someone that she was ticklish.

Nathan decided to put her words to a little test. He started tickling Haley and she squealed instantly, getting off him and rolling onto the other side of the bed, but he kept up and moved so that his body was over hers, pinning her in place so he could continue his assault.

"Nathan! Nathan, stop!" she screamed between giggles.

"I thought you said you weren't ticklish."

"Okay, okay, I am. Now, please stop!" she tried to push him off her, but, not surprisingly, he was stronger than she was and didn't budge. However, he finally let up and stopped tickling her. "Oh, thank God!"

Nathan chuckled and adjusted himself so that he lay on his side, next to her. "I hope that's taught you a lesson, Haley," Nathan said mock seriously. "You should know that it's bad to lie."

"Oh, I'll never lie again!" She giggled before asking, "So…what do you want to do?" When he raised his hand and flexed his fingers, she added, "Aside from tickle me, of course."

"Um…can we talk?"

Haley raised a brow. "Talk?"

"Yeah…"

"Not about your Dad, right?"

"No! I mean, about you."

"About me?"

"Yeah."

"What, like, you want to play twenty questions? 'Cause that would be a little too Cinderella Story-esque for my taste."

"Not twenty questions, we can just talk. Tell me stuff about you."

"What kind of stuff?" Haley wondered feeling embarrassed now that the topic of conversation focused solely on her.

"All kinds of stuff. Whatever you want to tell me."

"Erm…I like mac and cheese. Stuff like that?"

"Exactly like that." When Haley looked at him strangely, Nathan explained, "I guess I feel kind of strange because I know that I'm attracted to you but I don't really know that much about you. And I want to."

Haley practically glowed. "That's okay," she whispered as she reached up to caress his cheek. "I know you."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

At eight minutes to midnight Nathan pulled up in front of Haley's house.

"So…" Nathan began as he put the jeep into park, "this is the place."

"Well…actually, no."

"No?"

"Me and my family are just staying here while the mansion is renovated," Haley said nonchalantly.

Nathan chuckled. "Yeah. So, listen, Haley, I had a really great time tonight. I'm really glad you came to the party…and to the closet," he added.

Haley blushed slightly, but also nodded. "Me too."

Nathan leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. "Do you really have to go now?"

"It's nearly midnight, Nathan."

"Yeah, but it's not midnight yet. You don't have to be inside before then."

"Maybe, but, since we're already here, I may as well go inside."

Nathan pouted and kissed Haley again. "But, we've still got…" Nathan paused as he glanced at his watch, "seven minutes left. A lot can happen in seven minutes, Haley," he said seriously.

Haley grinned. "I think we've already proven that once tonight."

"Yeah, I suppose so." He brought his hand up to her cheek, kissing her lips again, before moving back slightly. "So, you really can't stay?"

"The light is on in the kitchen," Haley gestured to her house, "which means my Mum is waiting up for me. I think it's better if I just go now."

"Okay. I'll walk you there."

Nathan got out and jogged over to Haley's side to open the door for her. She smiled at him as she slid down from the jeep and took his offered hand on the walk up to her doorstep.

"So…can I call you tomorrow?"

Haley nodded.

"Goodnight," Nathan whispered, bending down to kiss her.

Haley had just started to kiss him back when she pulled away and said, "Oh no."

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Do you have my number?" she wondered.

Nathan thought for a moment and then had to laugh. "No, you're right, I don't."

He took out his phone so Haley could add it for him. Once she had saved it, she asked, "What would you have done tomorrow if I hadn't remembered?"

"Oh…" Nathan shrugged as he put the phone back in his pocket. "I would've called Lucas."

"I'm sorry I prevented that brotherly conversation then."

"Don't be. I'm very happy to prolong my next conversation with Lucas for as long as possible."

"It's not going to be that bad," Haley reassured him.

"That's what he wants you to think. Maybe if I can get him to drink some tea beforehand…" Nathan suggested, causing Haley to giggle.

"We'll think of something."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. Well, goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

Nathan kissed her softly, and Haley wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned into his embrace. Nathan's hand came up behind her head as they moved backwards so Haley was leaning against the door.

"I thought you had to go," Nathan whispered between kisses.

"It's not midnight yet," Haley breathed as she tangled her fingers in his hair and brought him down to kiss her again.

Then, all of a sudden, the door opened behind Haley and she stumbled backwards into the house, Nathan following her. He managed to regain his balance before she did, and kept his arms tightly around her waist so she didn't fall.

"Hello."

Nathan and Haley both looked to the side and found an older woman standing there, her arms folded as she eyed the pair.

"Hi, mum," Haley said, stepping away from Nathan.

"Hello, Haley. I thought I heard a noise and I saw a car outside so I came to check. Here before your curfew, as always."

Haley nodded and stuffed her hands in her back pockets while Nathan stared at the ground.

"And who is this gentleman, who was so kind as to escort you home?"

"Um, mum, this is Nathan. Nathan, this is my mum."

Lydia looked surprised. "Nathan? As is Lucas' brother."

Nathan nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Call me Lydia; I'm not that old yet. Now, Haley, I had no idea you were seeing Lucas' brother. I'm always the last to know things around here."

"Actually, Nathan and I just started dating tonight."

"But, you didn't tell me tonight was a date. I thought it was just someone's birthday party. If I had known you were going on a date, Haley-Bop, I'd have never let you go out like that. And wasn't it Lucas, who picked you up, anyway?"

Nathan's eyebrows perked up at the words, "Haley-Bop", while Haley tried to usher him back outside. "Mum, Nathan has to get back home."

"Oh, of course, he does. I'm so sorry Nathan."

"That's alright Mrs. Jame-Lydia."

"Then, do you mind waiting just one more minute?"

"Yes, he –" Haley tried to interrupt, but Nathan said he didn't mind.

"Perfect," Lydia told him. "Jimmy!" she called. "Come meet Haley's new boyfriend."

Haley cringed as she heard her father come down the stairs.

"I didn't know Haley had a boyfriend," he shouted.

"Neither did I, dear," she replied.

Jimmy had soon come down the steps and joined them in the foyer. He folded his arms and eyed Nathan suspiciously. "And you are?"

"Er, Nathan. Sir," he added.

"And why are you bringing my daughter home at such a late hour?"

"Daddy! You said midnight, and it's not even that yet."

Jimmy sighed and looked at Haley. "I didn't want him to know that. Now," he returned to Nathan, "what exactly are your intentions?"

"Oh, Jimmy, stop it," Lydia laughed. "Nathan is Lucas' brother."

Jimmy smiled. "Lucas' brother? Oh, well, why didn't you say so? Family of Lucas' is always welcome in our home. Except maybe not that father of yours."

"Daddy!" Haley exclaimed, just as Lydia shouted, "Jimmy!"

This time it was Nathan who laughed. "That's okay."

"Why don't we let Nathan and Haley say goodnight?" Lydia suggested.

"Why can't they say goodnight when we're here?"

"Come on," Lydia ushered Jimmy into the kitchen, leaving Nathan and Haley alone in front of the door.

"I am so sorry about that!" Haley told him. "I wasn't even sure if they'd be home, because they aren't always, and I had no idea that that would happen; I am so sorry, especially what my Dad said about your Dad. I mean, he really shouldn't have said that and –"

"It's okay, Haley, really," Nathan said, smiling. "I like your parents."

Haley's forehead wrinkled. "You do?"

"Yeah. They seem cool."

"Oh. Okay."

"I guess I should go home now."

Haley nodded. "Yeah…"

"So, then," Nathan began as he stepped closer to her, "this time it's goodnight for real."

"Yeah, I guess it is," she said, closing the distance between them. "Goodnight," she whispered, her lips inches away from his.

"Goodnight."

Haley closed her eyes, anticipating Nathan's kiss, when she felt something warm and slightly wet brush across her forehead. She blinked and realized he had kissed her; just not where she had wanted him to. Then, Nathan bent down and whispered in her ear, "Your parents are looking at us from behind the kitchen door."

Haley blushed and smiled at the same time. Then she gave Nathan a short, but sweet kiss on the lips.

Nathan grinned. "So, I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Okay."

He said, "Goodbye," before jogging down the front steps. With a final smirk in Haley's direction he got inside the car and started the engine.

Haley stayed by the front door, and watched him drive away before closing it and leaning against the door frame with a dreamy smile on her face. She looked up to find Lydia James standing opposite her, wearing a smile of her own.

"I suppose I don't have to ask whether you had good time tonight."

"No, you don't," Haley said as she walked past her and towards the staircase.

"Well, then, at least tell me how come Nathan gets a goodnight kiss and your father and I don't?"

"Mum!"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So this is it; the final chapter. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, I never thought this little story would get as big of a response as it did, and I'm really glad that other people liked it as much as I did. I hope you enjoy this epilogue too. **

**Epilogue**

"Haley, come out of there already!" Peyton shouted from the bedroom.

Haley was currently holed up in her bathroom, trying on yet another outfit for her date with Nathan. He had called her in the morning, as promised, and suggested that they go for dinner that night. At first she'd been excited – her very first date! But as the hours passed she realized how much trouble she was in - it was her very first date! She had no idea what she was supposed to do!

Panicked, she called Peyton, who showed up twenty minutes later, with Brooke, who'd apparently been at her house when Haley called and had wanted to come too. After throwing Haley's initial choice of outfit onto the floor they had turned the room upside down and put together clothes Haley was certain she didn't own.

Sighing, Haley eyed herself in the bathroom mirror one last time and came out.

Brooke grinned. "Tutorgirl, you look hot! I certainly have a knack for creating outfits if I do say so myself."

"I second that. Now, excuse me," Peyton said, getting up from the bed.

"What?" Haley wondered as the blond pushed past her.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she called before slamming the door shut.

The remaining girls shared an amused look before Haley's gaze flickered to the ground as realized she'd never been alone with Brooke before. The effervescent cheerleader had always intimidated her, and she was inclined to dislike her since she associated with the psycho Rachel, but Lucas claimed she didn't really like Rachel and only tolerated her because they were co-captains of the cheerleading squad. Either way, she was now Lucas' girlfriend and he had asked Haley to make an effort to be friends with her.

Haley looked up again and gave Brooke a small smile. "So…you sure this is okay?"

Brooke nodded. "Nathan's blind if he doesn't flip when he sees you in this."

Haley laughed.

Brooke smiled and held a hand out to her. "Here," she said, giving her a necklace. "I was looking through your jewelry when you were in there and I think this should go perfectly."

Haley put it on and noticed that it did. "Thanks, Brooke."

"You're welcome."

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Peyton called out from the bathroom, "Is that Nathan?"

"Yeah, I think it is," Haley said, as she quickly snatched up her purse.

"Okay, don't go down yet."

Brooke's forehead wrinkled. "Why not?"

"I want to have a talk with Nathan first."

Haley's eyebrows went up, way up.

"Okay, you go," Brooke whispered. "I'll stall her when she comes out."

"Thank you!" Haley said, before running down the stairs and opening the door.

Nathan was standing on the front step in a black button down shirt and dark jeans. He grinned at Haley. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Uh…this is for you." Nathan lifted his hand, and it was then that Haley noticed he was holding a single red rose.

She blushed and smiled at the same time. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

Nathan let out a nervous chuckle before asking, "So you ready to go?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah, just let me get my coat." She moved to the coat rack and picked up her jacket before going out and closing the door behind her. "Where are we going?" she asked as they walked down the steps.

"There's this restaurant by the docks that I've been to a couple of times. I thought we could go there. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Hey…" Nathan began as they stopped outside the passenger door of the jeep, "you look really pretty tonight. Not that you don't normally, I mean, that's not what I meant, I just…you look really nice – not only now, I mean…I'm really bad at this," Nathan said finally, laughing at himself.

Haley grinned at him. "You're better than you think you are."

"I'm glad. So…I know that technically we haven't been on a date yet and you're supposed to wait until the end of the date, but this hasn't happened in the most conventional of ways and…"

"Yes?" Haley prompted.

"Can I kiss you? Now?"

Haley raised a brow. "Are you asking permission to kiss me?"

"Kind of, yeah."

Haley grinned. "You have permission to kiss me any time you feel like it."

Nathan smirked as he bent his head and was about to kiss her when she suddenly moved back. "What? I thought it was okay."

"It is, I just – you were going to crush my rose," Haley explained. She put her arms around his neck and said, "There."

"So, now it's okay?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to crush anything? I mean, I might mess up your hair so –"

Haley shook her head and stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Nathan grinned. "So…I guess we should get going."

Haley nodded so Nathan opened the passenger door for her and she got inside. As she waited for Nathan walk around the jeep she glanced out of the window and saw Brooke and Peyton staring at them through the kitchen window. When they realized she had seen them Brooke gave her a thumbs-up sign.

Haley signaled with her eyes for them to stop looking, but they didn't.

"You okay?" Nathan wondered as he strapped on his seatbelt.

Haley nodded vigorously, moving her body to the side, praying that Nathan couldn't see them. "Yeah! I'm just…excited."

Nathan chuckled. "Me too," he said softly.

And with that he drove towards the docks while Haley played with the rose in her lap.

* * *

_About 3 months later…_

Haley let the last customer out of Karen's café before turning the main lights off and putting up the closed sign. Another dull January day had just gone by in the same fashion that they always did; she went to school, went to work and, after closing up, she'd go home to an empty house once more since her parent's were on another one of their trips.

At least she could look forward to tomorrow though. It was a Saturday and Nathan was coming over; granted, it was to study for their history test on Monday, but she knew he would lose concentration soon and, truth be told, she didn't always mind.

She smiled dreamily while she wiped down the main counter as thoughts of her boyfriend flooded her mind. She and Nathan had been dating for nearly three months now, and she had never been happier. Most people at school still gave them weird looks – no one more than Rachel who, despite Nathan's attempt to get her off Haley's back, had only become meaner to her after finding out about their relationship. Still, lately she had been a lot less verbal about her dislike of Haley, and she knew that that was due to her new found friendship with Brooke, the only girl in school more popular than Rachel, and one of the nicest people she knew.

As Haley put away the chairs her thoughts returned to her boyfriend and she wondered about the plan he had almost let slip to her a few days ago. He had surprised her one afternoon by remembering that their three month anniversary was coming up and had accidentally started to mention what he had planned for the occasion, before clamming up. Haley had tried to persuade it out of him since, but he refused to budge.

A knock on the front door pulled Haley out of her thoughts and brought a smile to her face. She practically skipped over there and opened the door for the visitor who promptly planted a kiss on her lips.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? A guy can't visit his girlfriend?" Nathan asked as he kicked the door shut and kissed her again.

"Nathan!" she protested, squirming in his arms, but only slightly. "I'm working."

"No, the café's closed. You're off work," he informed her and began kissing her neck.

"I told Karen I…oh my…I'm supposed to…oh, Nathan…clean up," she managed.

Nathan kissed a trail up to her ear before whispering, "But this is so much more fun."

Haley couldn't help but smile, until she realized exactly where they were and pushed him away, this time managing to break free.

"What?"

"You can't do that here!"

"This is not in public, Haley. No one can see us."

"Everyone can see us!" she exclaimed and pointed to the glass front and side of the café.

Nathan sighed. "No one is looking in and even if they were it's too dark for them to see inside properly.

"That's not the point. You are going to sit behind the counter until I finish cleaning up. And while you sit there you can tell me why you're here."

"Well, actually, it's something I have to show you."

That caught Haley's interest. "Huh?"

Nathan smirked and took her hand. "Come on."

"No, I can't leave," she protested as he started to lead her towards the back.

"We're not leaving. We're just going upstairs for a bit."

"But…upstairs there's only the roof."

"Exactly."

"Huh? Nathan, what is going on?" she asked as she followed him upstairs.

"Patience, Haley. Isn't that what you always tell me when I say I don't understand?"

"Hey, no fair using that."

Nathan chuckled. "Come on, we're almost there." Nathan reached the top step and waited until Haley had caught up with him before he opened the door that led onto the roof. "You ready?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be ready for."

Nathan grinned and swung the door open. Haley gasped as she saw a mass of people already there and they all screamed, "Surprise!"

* * *

Haley was in shock.

It was party for her. A birthday party. And he had planned the whole thing.

And it wasn't even her birthday.

She had turned eighteen three weeks ago, during the December holidays, and, as usual, few of her friends had been in Tree Hill to help her celebrate the event. When she was a kid the only friend of hers who hadn't gone away for the holidays had been Lucas so they always celebrated her birthday together. This birthday hadn't been all that different.

Jake had been there too, so the two boys had taken her out and they'd had fun, but she'd missed her girlfriends, and especially Nathan, the whole time. Peyton's Dad had wanted her to come on one of his boat trips so they could have some quality time together, while Brooke's parents had been adamant that she spend Christmas in California with them. Nathan too had been away because of his family; in his case his Mum, who had finally decided to separate from Dan, had wanted Nathan to spend Christmas with her since Dan hardly let her see Nathan in this time leading up to the court case.

The day Nathan had arrived back in Tree Hill he had taken Haley out and they'd had a belated celebration of their own, which had ended in him giving her the most gorgeous pair of earrings that she was sure were far too expensive.

She had been perfectly happy with their night together so she had no clue that he had been planning this little shindig, as a sort of endeavor to make up for all the boring birthday celebrations she'd had in the past.

He'd even called her parents! When she'd seen the smiling faces of Lydia and Jimmy James amongst the crowd she'd thought that they had done this for her, but Lydia had informed her it had all been Nathan's idea. He'd just called them up and told them when it was. The decision to make Haley think that they would be out of town that night was their own.

Haley took a sip of her drink and scanned the crowd, noticing that Nathan had really taken the effort to call everyone she considered her friends. Not only were her parents, Karen, Keith, Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, Jake and the guys from the Rivercourt here, but so were some of her tutees. But just the ones she liked; which meant he would have had to have listened to all her rants about tutoring and school to know that.

Haley smiled to herself and her smile widened when she heard a deep voice from behind her, "Hey. You're not bored, are you?"

Haley turned and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. "No, I just came here to get a drink. Most definitely not bored."

"Good. So, do you mind if I steal you away for a bit?"

Haley raised a brow. "Another surprise?"

"Not really a surprise. I'd just like to have you to myself for a few minutes. Maybe get a proper kiss in."

Haley blushed, but nodded and put her empty plastic cup down on the table. Nathan took her hand, and led her back down the stairs and into the mop closet in the back of the café.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, incredulously.

"It's the only closet you guys have."

"And we have to do this in a closet?"

Nathan smirked and pulled a small box out of his back pocket.

"What's this?"

"It's your birthday present."

"Wh-what? Nathan…Nathan, you already got me a present."

"I know, but I wanted to get you something better."

"Nathan I told you I love those earrings. Look, if you don't believe me," she said, and moved her hair so that he could see she was wearing them.

"And they look great on you, but I wanted to get you something…You got me a great present, Haley, and earrings just weren't enough."

She stuck her hands on her hips. "So now this is a contest to see who gives who the nicer birthday present?"

"Are you going to open it?"

Haley sighed and took it from him and slowly unwrapped the rectangular box. Inside it was a delicately carved jewelry box. "Oh my God, Nathan…It's –"

"Open it."

She glanced up at him. "But, I –"

"Open the box."

She took the jewelry box into the palm of her hand and lifted the lid expecting to find something inside it. Instead she heard soft music fill the air. "It's a music box," she whispered.

Nathan stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. But, you didn't have to get me -"

"I wanted to," he said simply. "Before your birthday I was looking for the perfect gift and I couldn't find it so I got you those, but when I was planning this I saw the box in a shop and I wanted to get it for you."

Haley smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Thank you." She laughed and added, "But now that you've gotten me two presents you aren't getting me something for our anniversary."

"And if I already have?"

"Nathan!"

"What?"

"You're spoiling me," she pouted.

"I like spoiling you."

"But now I don't know what I'm going to get you."

"I thought you didn't want this to be a contest," Nathan reminded her, eliciting a grin from Haley. He sighed and added, "I guess we should get back to everyone else before they wonder where we're gone."

"Well…" Haley began, putting the wrapping paper and the music box down on the stool beside them, "we don't have to go just yet. I mean," she said, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I haven't even thanked you properly for my present yet."

He leaned in and placed his hands on her waist. "No, you haven't."

"I don't think they'll miss us if we're gone for another…five minutes," she suggested.

Nathan smirked. "Make it seven."

**The end.**


End file.
